


Till it's gone

by endlessghostfire



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Attempted rape but nothing too violent, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Non magic AU, Romance, Sex, arthur is a dick at the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 11:23:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 18,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8842813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlessghostfire/pseuds/endlessghostfire
Summary: When Arthur insults Merlin at a party, everything goes downhill and Merlin does the only thing he knows how to do: run away from his problems. Merlin/Arthur. Some other pairings but Merthur is the main one. Rated M for sexy times at the end.





	1. Chapter 1

"MERLIN!"

Merlin groaned and rolled over on his bed, blinking at the angry figure in the doorway.

"Arthur, fuck off. I'm sleeping." He grumbled and cocooned himself back inside his covers, which were immediately ripped off him.  
He shivered and curled up in a ball,

"What so you want, you cabbagehead?"

"It's Gwaine's party today." Came Arthur's reply, like that was a reasonable excuse to wake your roommate up at 8:00AM on a Saturday.

Merlin groaned and sat up, looking around the room until he found Arthur standing at the bottom on his bed, "So? It's not until tonight, why the fuck am I up this early?"

Arthur smirked and walked towards the door, "We're going shopping. I need a new outfit for tonight" He said cockily, dodging a pillow that was thrown his way.

"That doesn't mean I have to come with you!" Merlin shouted at him, but Arthur had already left. The 19 year old grumbled and got out of bed, jumping into the shower for a quick wash and wank. 'W&W' Merlin liked to call it.

After he shut the water off, he wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed another one for his hair. Merlin walked over to the mirror and quickly glanced into its fogged up lense. He didn't need to shave, he had some stubble, but he kind of liked it.

Opening the bathroom door, Merlin almost had a heart attack. Arthur stood immediately outside, leaning against the doorframe. Merlin jumped and squeaked in a very unmanly way, making Arthur double over in laughter.

"Would you STOP doing that!" Merlin complained, slapping Arthur on the arm.

After the blond had caught his breath, he shook his head, smirking, "No. You're reaction is always priceless."

Merlin huffed, it couldn't hold back a smile as he pushed Arthur's chest to get him out of the way so he could walk into his bedroom.

He heard Arthur follow him and slammed the bedroom door in his face, laughing quietly when he heard his friend's head collide with it.

"You did that on purpose!" Came a shout from the other side of the door.

"Of course I did! Payback for waking me up so fucking early!"

*******************************************  
When Merlin had dried himself and got some clothes on, which consisted of his usual black skinny jeans, a blue shirt, and a bright red neckerchief, he walked through the flat and into the kitchen.

He could smell burnt charcoal before he even came out of his bedroom and he sighed. Arthur had tried to cook again. The idiot. That adorable idiot.

Merlin couldn't remember a time when he didn't have feelings for his blond stud of a best friend. They had been friends from the moment Arthur had stolen Merlin's coca cola lollipop and swapped it with a strawberry one when they were 6. 13 years on, and Merlin was still lovestruck.

He wouldn't tell Arthur, though. Oh god, no. The blond was completely straight, or from what Merlin saw. I mean, sure, he'd completely supported Merlin when he came out on his 17th birthday, but Merlin just thought it was because Arthur never judged him.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the fire alarm went off and he heard a "SHIT!" From the kitchen. He ran in to see Arthur running a burning frying pan under the tap, smoke everywhere.

Merlin went over and opened a window, then got a magazine from the table and flapped it under the fire alarm. After a moment, it became silent and the brunette turned to Arthur, who looked very sheepish.

"See? I told you you couldn't cook! You're an absolute dollophead." Merlin shook his head, but chuckled at the guilty look on Arthur 's face.

After a moment of laughter, Arthur cleared his throat and grabbed his wallet and phone, "Costa for breakfast?" He asked.

Merlin laughed and did the same, pocketing his wallet and checking his phone for any messages. "Sounds good" he said, as he slid his phone in his back pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin nodded and grabbed his wallet and phone, like he had that morning, and walked into the living area, where Arthur stood waiting at the front door.

The blond had on a pair of blue jeans, which showed off his perfect legs and arse, and a blue striped shirt. He turned and smirked at Merlin he entered, noticing the brunette's eyes travel down his figure.

Oh, the blond rugby player knew perfectly well that he was the centre of His best friend's infatuation. He had known ever since Gwaine told him they both acted like a couple three years ago. Merlin had blushed beetroot red and stayed quiet for the rest of the evening.

Arthur himself didn't know what to feel about the situation. His mixed feelings for Merlin gave him a headache so he locked them away in the corner of his brain.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and opened the door for Merlin to walk out first, then locked it behind him.

Merlin smiled as he walked out of the door and started down the stairs to the lobby and outside to the cars.

"I'll drive." Merlin commented, fishing his keys out of his tight back pocket. "I know how fucked up you get at Gwaine's parties."

Arthur's silence was took for agreement and Merlin slipped into the drivers seat, Arthur doing the same in the seat beside him.

After a five minute drive, they arrived at Gwaine's house. Well, mansion. The git always like to show to off how successful he was. No one blamed him, though. When he moved here, he had £10 to his name, but he was determined to work for what he wanted, and he got it. He dropped collage to become CEO of a weapon making company when he was only 17, and now he was loaded. His job suited him, strangely. He was always picking fights with people when drunk, and by god, was he a good fighter. What was even stranger was the fact he had had no proper fight training, it was all self taught.

Merlin stopped the car outside in the mansion's huge carpark and both men jumped out, Merlin locking the car as they walked towards the main entrance, where a crowd had already formed.

Inside, Merlin and Arthur stood together in silence for it even a minute before...

"ARTHUR! MERLIN!"

Gwaine jogged up to them and wrapped his strong arms around the both of them. Arthur didn't mind and rapped the rugged man on the back; Merlin, on the other hand, was a lot skinnier and weaker than the two of them and ended up being suffocated.

"Oh," Gwaine, realising Merlin was getting hurt, pulled away, "Sorry mate" he laughed, patting the brunette on the shoulder, before directing Arthur to walk with him over to the 'knights of the round table' as Merlin liked to think of them.

They were a group of Arthur's friends, which both he and Merlin had known since primary school. The group consisted of six young men; Arthur, Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Elyan and Lancelot. All of them fairly tough rugby players.

Merlin liked to call them the 'Knights of the Round Table' because of the way they acted. Arthur was clearly their leader, just like the (ironic or what?) King Arthur of old. Everyone else clearly looked up to him like they would their king, but also mess around with him a lot.

Leon was the most loyal to Arthur, probably because he knew him the longest. The man was slightly older than the rest, meaning he was the most mature, but it didn't stop their friendship with him.

Percival looked the most like a knight. He was build like a rock, huge biceps, which Gwaine made him show all the time. He and Gwaine were a huge thing. They were childhood friends who finally got together after Gwaine came onto Percival when he was pissed. They've been together for five years.

Elyan was the smallest of the group, excluding Merlin when he hung out with them. He was Arthur's ex-girlfriend's little brother, which meant the relationship between him and Arthur was a tad awkward, but they worked around it.

Last off was Lancelot. Quite an ironic name for a 'knight', Merlin always told him. He and Merlin had the closest relationship of all the 'Knights', excluding him and Arthur. They met when Merlin had had a rough day and drove to a cafe in the outskirts of the city. Lancelot was working at the cafe and were good friends almost instantly. After that, Merlin convinced Lancelot to move closer to where he lived and, shortly after, introduced him to the Knights. He always stuck up for the 19 year old in University. Merlin was always a victim of bullying, ever since he was a child, but it had died down a lot since he left collage.

The Knights happily greeted Arthur when he walked over, laughing when Gwaine jumped Percival on the sofa.

Merlin stood, smiling at the lot of them from where he had walked in, until someone shoved a cup of liquid into his hand. Turning, he saw Cenred grinning at him. He'd never really liked Cenred. He had an evil air about him that never spelled anything good.

"So, Merlin, how've you been?"


	3. Chapter 3

"So, Merlin, how've you been?"

The sneer that Cenred was wearing made Merlin want to shiver. He looked down at the cup in his hand, having no urge to drink it. It was probably spiked with...something Merlin didn't want to even think about.

Cenred took a step forward, making Merlin take a step backward. It happened again. And again. Until Merlin felt the cold, hard surface of the wall behind him and inwardly cursed. Shit. He was never going to get out of this.

"I-I-erm." Remember to speak. Come on, Merlin, you're not a puny 16 year old anymore...okay, maybe you're still puny, but you're nearly 20. Merlin gulped and looked up at Cenred's smug face. "Good. I've been good" he managed to get out in one piece.

Cenred laughed, leaning forwards with one hand, resting it just above Merlin's shoulder. Brilliant. Now he was half trapped.

"Stop being so nervous, Merrrlin." The way Cenred purred his name actually made Merlin shiver, earning another laugh from Cenred.

"Oh, it's me! Do I make you nervous, babe?"

The pet name made Merlin's eyes widen, his whole body freezing. Cenred either didn't notice or didn't care.

"So, why don't you drink up? You'll be less nervous then"

Merlin looked over Cenred's shoulder, hoping-no-praying someone at least noticed how uncomfortable he was.

No one.

Shit.

Merlin looked sideways and caught sight of Arthur and the gang, all in their own world. They were laughing, having a good time, probably talking idly about rugby or whatever the 'knights' talked about.

He gulped, desperately wanting to escape out of Cenred's hold and go and in them. They'd protect him. Merlin started slowly sliding along the wall towards them, until a strong arm slammed against the wall by his face, making him jump violently.

"Where are YOU going, babe?" Cenred slurred, close to Merlin's ear.

From across the room, Arthur was already quite drunk. The second he'd walked over to his friends a can of beer was shoved into his hand by Gwaine, which he'd strongly suspected had something stronger than beer in it, but drank it anyway. It didn't matter, though, because everyone else seemed to be in the same state as he was.

He laughed at Percival, who was trying (and failing) to get a very horny Gwaine off of him, before his eyes wandered to the rest of the party. He scanned the people, laughing and drinking, until his eyes stopped at two people in particular.

Merlin was with...Cenred?

His drunk mind went wild.

What does this mean? Merlin is WITH Cenred? He doesn't even look drunk. Does this mean that Merlin no longer loved him? Or...Or had he given up, thinking there would never be a chance with Arthur, so started moving on? No. No, he wouldn't let that happen. Merlin was HIS.

Jealousy sparked up within Arthur and he got up, swaying for a moment, before storming over to his best friend and that shaggy son-of-a-bitch that was trying to steal his Merlin from him.

**************************************  
Merlin was about to answer when a hand appeared on Cenred's shoulder and the next thing they knew, the taller man was being pulled backwards, away from Merlin.

Merlin relaxed against the wall, someone had saved him.

It took his a moment to realise his rescuer was, in fact, Arthur. His eyes lit up, until he noticed his best friend's state. Oh god. He was hammered.

"What do you think you're doing?" Arthur slurred angrily at Cenred, who looked both confused and annoyed. "LEAVE MERLIN ALONE"

Everyone standing around them suddenly stopped talking and looked around as Arthur picked Cenred up by his shirt collar, and threw his violently to the ground.

Merlin watched the whole thing with wide eyes, the cup of alcohol trembling in his hand.

When Cenred stood up and almost ran away from them, Arthur angrily turned to Merlin.

The brunette went white. This wasn't good.

Arthur stomped over to Merlin and grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the knights, who had all gone quiet to watch, except maybe Gwaine, who looked disappointed there wasn't an actual fight.

When the both of them got feet from the knights, Arthur swig around and stopped; Merlin, not expecting this, bumped into his chest, then stepped back, blushing.

"Merlin..." Arthur stated quietly.

"...Merlin, WHAT THE FUCK?!"


	4. Chapter 4

"...Merlin, WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Arthur's shout echoed through the huge rooms in Gwaine's house. Merlin froze again. He'd never seen Arthur so angry. Especially with him.

"W-What? What did I do? He was the one coming onto me and I-I..." Merlin drifted off, the trembling in his hands started again as he saw the angry look on Arthur's face get harder.

"You WHAT? I know what you were doing. You were wanting it to happen"

Merlin looked up at Arthur like he had two heads. "What?! No! I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me, Merlin. You wanted him. You wanted his DICK INSIDE YOU"

Merlin went bright red, glancing around at the crowd that had gathered, watching their conversation. He violently shook his head.

"N-No! Arthur! Of course I didn't! I wanted nothing! I hated what he was implying!"

Arthur snorted. "Yeah right. You're so sex-deprived, Merlin. You haven't had a date in years and we ALL KNOW WHY!" He said loudly, knowing everyone was listening, some whispering.

Merlin closed his eyes and fought back tears of embarrassment, knowing full well he was blushing almost purple now. "Arthur, can we not do this right now..."

"Why not? You're just too pussy to admit it, MERlin. Admit it now or I will." Merlin shook his head "No? Well then..."

No. Arthur, don't do this. Please...please...

"YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH ME AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT"

The party was deadly silent. Even the music seemed to have stopped.

Arthur sneered, "It's all out now. You love me. You have for years and I knew."

Merlin gaped at him, "You knew?" He whispered.

"Of course I fucking knew! You used to stare at me in collage. I see you checking me out every morning when I come out of the shower!"

Merlin wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Preferably this instant.

Merlin's silent was taken as agreement and Arthur continued,

"So, what was that back there with Cenred? Did you want to play him? Because, you know, you're so in love with me you can't possibly move on. Just a fuck toy, hm?"

Merlin bit his lip and shook his head, "Stop this, Arthur. Please. This is the alcohol talking."

"And it's saying the truth. You seemed surprised to find I knew you loved me. I didn't tell you. I pretended it didn't know. Want to know why? Because I hated it. It's disgusting...You're disgusting."

That was it. Merlin had had enough.

"Arthur, just...just STOP!"

Merlin shouted before he did the only thing he knew how to do, he ran.


	5. Chapter 5

"Arthur, just...just STOP!"

Merlin shouted before he did the only thing he knew how to do, he ran.

He pushed through the crowd, his arm covering up the tears already streaming down his face, running blindly through the party.

How could Arthur do that to him? He was meant to be his best friend. And, if Arthur really knew about Merlin loving him, he would have said something...right?

"MERLIN!"

Merlin was jerked out of his thoughts. He was at the back door of Gwaine's house. He knew this place inside out, of course his feet would have led him to an exit. He turned around, realising the voice wasn't Arthur or Cenred.

Gwaine came jogging towards him, worry all over his face. Merlin felt himself get choked up again and turned away, putting his hand on the door handle.

"Mate..." Gwaine said gently when he stopped next to the brunette, "Are you okay?"

Merlin snorted, "What do you think?" He tried to sound angry, but his trembling and high pitched voice gave him away.

Gwaine immediately noticed (somehow a lot more observant in his drunk state than anyone else) and pulled Merlin round by his shoulder, then threw his arms around him in a bear hug.

Merlin clung to Gwaine's shoulders, beginning to sob. Gwaine seemed to understand Merlin needed this and stood still, gently rubbing Merlin's back in a comfort attempt.

"W-Why, Gwaine?" Merlin sniffed, after a good minute of crying into the rugged man's shoulder. He pulled back out of the hug and wiped his eyes.

"I don't know, mate. I'm sorry, but I don't. I thought He would be jealous enough to pull Cenred away from you and leave it at that. Not...what he did."

Merlin sniffed, "Jealous? You call that jealous? He...he called me disgusting. If you're jealous, you...d-don't say that."

Gwaine nodded, knowing it was drilled into Merlin's head that Arthur now hated him, so it was useless to try.

"Look, Merlin, just ignore him. It's my birthday and I want you here. Please?"

Merlin swallowed and nodded, "You're right, Gwaine. I'm so sorry for causing a scene on your birthday. I'll stay...but I don't want to.."

"See him." Gwaine finished, Merlin nodding.

The rugged man nodded in reply and took Merlin gently by the wrist and Tom him into the large kitchen; the counters lined with booze. Gwaine let go of Merlin's sleeve and began pouring his broken friend a pint of extra strong alcohol.

Arthur stared at the place where Merlin had run, trying to process what had just happened.

Suddenly, his head was forced backwards and he felt warm liquid start to flow from his nose.

Blinking back to the present, Arthur saw a furious Lancelot in front of him, being held back by Percival.

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU, ARTHUR! PERCIVAL LET ME GO."

"No, Lance."

Lancelot growled and tried getting free, then gave up and turned back to Arthur.

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT TO MERLIN?! HE'S YOUR BEST FRIEND. WHAT'S HE EVER DONE TO YOU!"

At that moment, everything came crashing down for Arthur.

Had he really just...?

Yes. He'd just completely ripped his best friend down in front of the whole party. He'd insulted him. Broken him. Shouted his biggest secret and, Arthur had to force down bile, called him disgusting.

He gasped, slapping a hand to his mouth. "What have I done?!" He whispered, not trusting his own voice.

"I'll tell you what you've done. You've completely broken possibly the nicest and most selfless person you know. How is Merlin ever going to be able to look at you anymore, Arthur? You've known each other for over 10 years, and you've just blown it all." Lancelot growled, finally calming down enough for Percival to let him go. He glared at Arthur, before running off after Gwaine to try and find Merlin.

Merlin finished off his third pint of alcohol, slamming the cup (thankfully not glass) on the kitchen counter with Gwaine looking at him, concerned.

"You may need to slow down there, Mer."

Merlin shook his head and reached for the bottle, about to pour it into the cup, then shrugged and begin to swig it straight from the bottle.

Gwaine opened his mouth to say something else, but Lancelot jogged up to them, took one look at Merlin, and cringed.

"Hey, Merlin. You alright?" Lancelot said gently, placing a hand on Merlin's shoulder.

Merlin smiled easily, obviously a lightweight, as he'd never had this much alcohol in his entire life out together, "Oh, I'm fiiinnneee" he slurred, leaning heavily on the kitchen counter.

Gwaine and Lancelot exchanged worried glances. Both had sobered up a lot since what had happened, and both knew the route Merlin was trying to take to drown his troubles. Literally drown. I alcohol.

"Gwaine, go and enjoy the rest of your birthday. I'll look after Merlin" Lancelot said quietly to the rugged man as he nodded and moved away, giving Merlin one last worried glance, then disappearing.

Lancelot watched him leave, then turned to Merlin, who was smiling idly at nothing in particular.

"Come on, mate, lets get you to a bedroom so you can sleep it off."


	6. Chapter 6

"Come on, mate, lets get you to a bedroom so you can sleep it off."

Merlin nodded, letting Lancelot practically carry him up the grand staircase to one of the many guest bedrooms.

The brunette was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Lancelot pulled the covers over Merlin and rubbed his arm gently, before leaving the drunk teenager to sleep the alcohol off in the dark room.

"I'm sorry, Mer, you don't deserve any of this"

Back downstairs, everyone had gone back to partying. All except Arthur.

He sat in the middle of his friends, staring into space. He hardly noticed when another beer was shoved into his hand, but did when he heard Merlin's name.

"Merlin what?"

Lancelot and Gwaine who, Arthur only just realised, had joined the group again, turned to look at the blond.

"We said Merlin's upstairs. He basically drank a whole bottle of whiskey in one go. He was drunk as fuck, you know Mer, never much of a drinker. Little lightweight."

Arthur went to stand up, before Lancelot held out his arm, stopping him, "I don't think so. You've caused enough trouble for him."

"I want to help, Lance. I want to make it up to him."

Lancelot narrowed his eyes, about to comment when Gwaine butted in, "You were the one who started this, you can't 'help' or 'make it better'. The poor guy is completely heart-broken from what you said to him. Just let him sleep."

Arthur, giving up, sat back down, almost crushing the can of beer in his hand when he lifted it to drink.

Five beers and two rounds of shots later, and everyone was pissed again. Along with the whole party, which had become very crowded, clearly with people who gatecrashed, but Gwaine didn't care. All the more to party, eh?

Arthur was currently talking to Elyan about the first scrum he'd ever done, when Cenred caught his attention.

He was across the room, talking to Valient, a friend of his that hardly ever left his side. 'The terrible twosome' came to Arthur's pissed mind when he looked at them. He watched them for a minute or so, completely forgetting his conversation with Elyan. Cenred and Valient chatted, laughed a few times, and then started talking very seriously.

Cenred patted Valient on the arm, before moving off through the crowd, slipping through the gaps in the dancing people.

Towards the staircase.

Arthur's eyes widened and immediately stood up. Percival got in his way when he moved to go after Cenred and grinned, pulling the blond towards a coffee table where another round of shots lay. Arthur tried to get away, but a full shot glass was pushed into his hand, and had no choice but to stay.

Upstairs, Merlin woke up because the music downstairs turned up. Restless, he twisted and turned in the covers, trying to drown out the noise and thumping in his head, before the door opened.

Light flooded into the room and the still-intoxicated teenager sat up, groggily.

In the doorway stood a tall, well built figure. Merlin, who's eyes hadn't got used to the light yet, passed it off as his tall, muscular, blond best friend.

Merlin smiled, before remembering what had happened downstairs a couple of hours ago and turned away from the silhouette.

"Go away *hic* Arthur. I don't want to talk to you"

He closed his eyes as he heard nothing for a while, thinking he had gone, but froze when he heard footsteps coming towards the bed, then the dip of the mattress as he sat down next to Merlin.

Merlin refused to look, before a tanned hand pulled his chin back towards the direction of the door.

The brunette gasped.

"Cenred...what are you doing here?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter contains non-consensual content that might be distressing to some readers.

'Cenred...what are you doing here?"

The man smiled and ran his fingers up Merlin's jawline.

"We never got to finish what we started"

Merlin's confused, drunk and still half-asleep mind didn't process.

"I know...wait...what?"

Cenred smirked, "I heard about what Arthur said to you. Must be hard."

Tears sprung to Merlin's eyes and he nodded, feeling a lot like a little child with a boo boo.

Cenred tutted and slid a thumb under one of Merlin's eyes, catching a tear before it fell.

"I know what you need. You need a good shag"

Merlin stiffened, "W-What?"

"Come on" Cenred said, his fingers working between the strands of Merlin's hair, which suddenly became a hard grip. Merlin whimpered and brought a hand up to try and get Cenred off, but the bigger man was too strong.

"L-Let me g-" Merlin started, then jumped when he heard a loud thump in the hallway.

Cenred laughed, pulling Merlin's head towards him and breathed into the teen's ear. His breath smelled strongly of alcohol.

"No. I don't think I will. I think we'll have some fun, huh?"

"No! Leave me alone, Cenred, I don't want this! No!" Merlin wriggled, trying to get free as Cenred pushed his head down on the pillow and got over him.

The man on top smirked, and leaned down, licking a trail up Merlin's neck.

Merlin yelled, pushing at Cenred's chest in an attempt for him to let Merlin go. It didn't work.

"Please. Please, just leave me alone.." He whispered, violently jerking his body away as he felt a hand travel down his chest, towards his crotch.

"You're very skinny, babe, oh well, maybe I can make you break like a twig."

Merlin's breathing had picked up. He struggled violently, but immediately stopped when he felt a fist connect with his left eye.

Groaning in pain, he brought a hand up to cradle his injured eye.

"There. That's shut you up, hasn't it."

Merlin, even in his panicked and intoxicated state, still had some brains in him.

He took a deep breath and looked up at Cenred with his one good eye, the other swelling at a fast rate.

"O-Okay, Cenred" he whispered, trying to keep his voice steady, "Okay."

Cenred gave him a triumphant smile. "See? I knew you'd come around"

Merlin nodded, gulping twice, before wetting his dry lips. "Yes, I know. But you have to lean up so I can-" He choked on his own spit, 'So I can get my jeans off"

Cenred grinned hungrily, gripping Merlin's hair again and forced his head up. Merlin cringed when lips roughly met his, a tongue forcing itself into his mouth. Merlin had to fight the urge to gag.

When Cenred pulled back, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Let's get you undressed, then. So I can have my way with you."

Merlin bit his lip, not trusting his voice, and nodded.

Cenred smiled, moving to sit up on Merlin's thighs to work on undoing the younger's belt.

Wait for it. Wait for it. Merlin repeated again and again in his head.

When his belt and trousers were undone, Cenred began to move off of Merlin's thighs to pull his trousers down.

Merlin took a deep breath.

Now.

He swung his knee up, hitting Cenred in the jaw and quickly rolled off the bed, bolting for the door. He made it out into the hallway when he heard Cenred come after him. Panicking, Merlin sprinted down the hall and down the staircase. He spotted Gwaine walking into the kitchen to, most likely, get more booze, and Merlin ran to him.

Gwaine jumped when two skinny arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders. He turned to see Merlin, his jeans undone, his hair messed up, with his head buried in his shoulder.

"Fuck, Merlin, what happened to you?"

Merlin pulled back, taking his arms off of Gwaine. The rugged man gasped.

Merlin's left eye was turning a bruised shade of purple, it was swollen and slightly puffy. His lip was bleeding from where Gwaine could make distinctive bite marks, probably from Merlin himself, and the whole teenager was shaking violently, tears streaming down his face.

"C-C-Cenred" Merlin breathed, his jaw beginning to tremble as he was on the edge of completely losing it.

Arthur managed to get free of his friends and immediately ran upstairs.

He passed a few people on his search for Cenred and Merlin, and walked into a few couples doing the nasty in the spare bedrooms.

He was about to give up, when he heard Cenred's voice coming from the open door at the end of the hallway.

Arthur crept closer, stopping just outside the open bedroom door to listen.

"We never got to finish what we started"

Arthur clenched his fists, praying to god that Merlin would deny it, like he told Arthur when they were fighting.

"I know...wait...what?"

Arthur froze. 'I know'...Merlin really wanted it to happen. He really did...Arthur ground his teeth together, resisting the urge to go into that bedroom and beat the shit out of the two that accompanied it.

"I heard about what Arthur said to you. Must be hard."

Arthur stopped at that, quickly growing angry, and guilty at the same time. How dare that bastard talk to HIS Merlin about THEIR argument!

But he's not yours. A voice in Arthur's head said. He used to be. But you fucked it up. You'll never get him back. Ever.

Arthur growled, nearly not catching what they said next.

"I know what you need. You need a good shag.

"W-What?"

Arthur's jaw dropped at that, and he moved to barge in, before he heard what happened then.

"Come on." Cenred.

Then a whimper. Arthur gasped. Merlin. MERLIN whimpered. He was enjoying it.

Furious, Arthur stalked down the hall, not hearing what Merlin said next, and violently punched the wall, making the plaster split and his knuckles begin to bleed.

Cradling his bleeding hand, still grinding his teeth, Arthur made it downstairs to try and calm down and come to grips that Merlin actually didn't want Arthur anymore.


	8. Chapter 8

Gwaine was furious.

Absolutely livid.

How dare that son-of-a-bitch even think he could do that to Merlin. Merlin, in his and all of the gang's eyes, was very fragile, and innocent. All of them made a silent pact to protect him from any harm. But it was proving harder than they thought.

Gwaine left Merlin in one of the living rooms (the room with the least people) with a drink of water, which was violently shaking in his hand, and ran to get Percival and Lancelot.

Lance nudged Percy when he noticed Gwaine running over, a stern look of determination on his face.

"What happened?" Percival asked when Gwaine stopped beside them.

"The asshole Cenred happened. He was halfway to raping Merlin until he managed to get away!" Gwaine growled through gritted teeth and spun on his heel, walking back to Merlin, knowing the two would follow.

Merlin looked up as he felt the couch dip beside him, startling himself out of the sort of trance he had put himself in. He jumped off of the couch, looking around wildly for Cenred, but could only find Gwaine, Percival and Lance's worried faces.

"Hey" Lance started gently, "Mate, are you alright?"

Merlin swallowed, trying to stop himself from shaking, and shook his head, sitting back down on the sofa.

He felt an arm go around his shoulders and forced himself to keep calm. It was only Lancelot.

"We're sorry, Mer. We shouldn't have left you alone for that long."

Merlin shook his head again, "N-No. It's your party, too. You don't have to waste your night by looking after me."

"But we do, Merlin. Especially with Cenred around, and Ar-"

Merlin closed his eyes, nodding when Gwaine stopped himself talking.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm just going to go home, if that's okay. I'm sorry, Gwaine, but I can't…"

Gwaine put a hand on Merlin's shoulder, "I know, mate, I know. Just promise to call us when you get home, okay?"

Merlin stood up and nodded, handing his drink to Lance. He took a deep breath and said his goodbyes before walking towards the front door, fishing his keys out of his pocket, surprised they were still in there.

Arthur had just finished washing the blood off of his knuckle, when he saw Gwaine, Percy and Lancelot.

He walked (stumbled) over to them and sat heavily down where Merlin was sitting a moment before.

"What're you guys doing?" He asked, looking at each of them, noticing the angry looks they were giving him.

After a moment of silence, Arthur asked, "Where's Merlin?"

"Gone."

"What?"

"He's gone, Arthur. He left just a minute ago. Can you seriously blame him? He's been through too much tonight"

Arthur snorted angrily, "Yeah, too much in him tonight."

Lancelot frowned and glanced at Gwaine, who was wearing the same expression.

"…What? Arthur?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I'm surprised you didn't hear about it. Merlin and Cenred! They fucked. Upstairs. I heard them. I was trying to find Merlin to apologize, but I heard them. You know what, I'm not sorry. Everything I said was true. You can't go around saying you love me, and then the next minute go and fuck someone else!"

There was a beat of silence, before Percival suddenly moved to catch Gwaine's fist, which pulled back to punch Arthur.

"What the fuck, Arthur?!"

"Arthur, you don't understand, Mer-" Lance and Percival tried to explain, before Gwaine interrupted them.

"CENRED ALMOST RAPED MERLIN, ARTHUR. HOW CAN YOU BE SUCH AN ARSEHOLE AND NOT REALISE THAT?!"

Arthur frowned, looking at each other them, then snorted. "Er. No! He didn't. Merlin wanted it to happen. I heard Merlin fucking whimper. He liked it."

"Trust us, Arthur, he didn't. He came running to me the moment he could get away from Cenred. He was crying and shaking and he had a fucking black eye. If he liked it, then why would Cenred punch him?"

Arthur's drunk mind tried to process the new information. Merlin didn't like it? He wanted to get away? If he did, then what was the whimper about? Unless…it was a whimper of discomfort. Oh god. Merlin didn't like it. He was telling the truth. He didn't like Cenred…So that must mean…

"Merlin still loves me? He doesn't like Cenred?" He asked excidedly.

Gwaine and Lancelot exchanged glances in disbelief.

"He will always love you, Arthur. But right now, because of you, he is a broken mess. Don't think he will forgive you just like that" Lance snapped his fingers, "If you go and apologize. You really embarrassed and insulted him, Arthur."

Arthur stood up, walking towards the door, "I can try!" He threw over his shoulder, before walking to the front door and going outside.

Merlin could hardly drive home. His eyes were full of tears the moment he was alone in the car. Come on, Merlin, pull yourself together. He kept telling himself, which just made himself cry even more.

Eventually, he managed to get home in one piece, locked the car, and practically ran up the staircase to the flat.

He quickly unlocked the door and ran into his room, leaving the front door open.

He had to get out of here. Arthur would be back in a few hours. And he'd still be drunk. Merlin didn't think he could stand even looking at his best friend anymore. Not after…

Merlin took a shaky breath and grabbed his huge backpack, moving to the wardrobe.

Merlin was getting out of here. And he wasn't coming back.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Again, this chapter contains (less graphic) non-consensual content that some readers may find distressing. Poor Merlin, I'm sorry.

Merlin was getting out of here. And he wasn't coming back.

He had been home five minutes, packing everything he would need, when he heard the front door close.

He froze in place. Oh god. Oh shit, oh shit, oh fucking shit.

Merlin told himself to breathe, and closed his eyes, taking a (fairly) steady breath in and then out again. He heard heavy footfalls inside the flat and squeezed his eyes tighter, halfway through packing a jumper into his bag.

The footsteps got closer.

The footsteps stopped.

After a moment of silence, Merlin slowly opened his eyes.

In the doorway stood Arthur, his eyes wide at what he had just walked in to.

"What….What are you doing, Merlin?"

Merlin stood up, his large packed backpack still in his hand. Slowly, he turned to properly face Arthur, trying his best to keep his emotions from escaping.

"I-I…I'm leaving, Arthur."

Arthur's eyes became wider and he took a step into Merlin's room, making the brunette take a step back. That stopped Arthur. Merlin realized that the blond had sobered up a bit since they last saw each other, but it still put Merlin on edge seeing him there. In the way of his escape.

"Why?"

Merlin gaped at him, "Do I really need to answer that, Arthur!"

An emotion flashed on Arthur's face, before it was gone again. Sadness? Guilt? Merlin was still trying to work out what it was when Arthur stepped forward again.

"Look, Merlin I-…"

"Don't. Arthur. You've already told me what you think."

Merlin shook head, moving towards the table to collect his phone charger and other things he'd need.

Arthur stepped forward again, closer to Merlin, watching him.

"I'm sorry, Merlin-"

"No, you're not"

Merlin didn't look at Arthur. He didn't think he could. After everything was packed, he zipped up the rucksack and swung it over his shoulder. He then turned to leave, but found Arthur directly in his way.

"Let me through, Arthur" Merlin could feel his voice getting weaker and weaker by every sentence.

"No. I won't let you go."

"Why not? What do you think would have happened if I stayed? You would apologize and I would forgive you and we all go about our business like normal? No. No, Arthur, I can't…" He gulped, remembering to breathe, "I can't do it. So just…let me leave. Please."

Arthur walked forward, making Merlin tense, and grabbed the backpack from the brunette's grip, throwing it outside into the hallway, then blocked Merlin's path.

"I won't let you leave until you listen to me"

"I've already listened to you, Arthur! I don't want to hear that I'm disgusting any more. Now I know what you truly feel. A drunk mouth speaks a sober mouth."

"No, Merli-"

Merlin shook his head and tried to walk past Arthur, who stopped him and pushed him backwards. The brunette stumbled a bit, then glared up at the blond.

"Arthur, let me through!"

"What happened between you and Cenred?"

Merlin froze as memories came back to him, his eyes wide. He could feel tears beginning to escape and closed his eyes, turning his head away.

Arthur took a step forward, and spoke in a gentler tone.

"You really didn't like what he was doing to you, did you?"

Merlin shook his head and sniffed, then flinched away when Arthur put a hand on his shoulder.

"You…" Arthur continued, stepping backwards a pace to give Merlin some room, "You still love me?"

Merlin turned back to Arthur, slightly confused. "I…Yes, I do" There wasn't much point in lying. Arthur had said himself he had known for years.

A sudden movement caught Merlin off guard and it took a moment for him to realize that Arthur's lips were against his. Merlin panicked and pushed Arthur backwards, away from him. He could smell a lot of alcohol on Arthur's breath and knew he still wasn't completely sober.

"Arthur, what the fuck are you doing?!

Arthur stumbled backwards but managed to catch himself and stood upright again, "You said you love me. This is what you want, isn't it?"

Merlin stared at him in disbelief. "Arth- No. No, it's not what I want…"

Arthur frowned, "I don't understand."

"Don't you remember anything you said to me and that party?! You completely insulted me, Arthur." Merlin shook his head, "I thought I loved you, but seeing now that you think I'm…" He forced himself not to gag, "Disgusting…I don't know..."

Merlin looked up again as another sudden movement caught his eye. Before he knew it, fingers were grabbing his hair and he was being thrown towards the ground by his bed.

Merlin cried out, using his arms to cushion his fall onto the polished wood flooring, then looked up to see a furious Arthur towering above him.

"You still love me! You have for years, I know!" Arthur began to shout. "You still love me now. And you will always love me."

It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself as well as Merlin. The brunette slowly sat up, leaning on one hand.

"Arthur, please. You don't want to do this…Yes, I still love you, but I can't stand you right now"

Fuming, Arthur crouched down, and grabbed Merlin's hair again. Merlin gasped and reached up to try and pull Arthur's hand away from his head.

"Get on the bed" Arthur growled, making Merlin's blood run cold.

"Arthur…no…"

"You still love me. You want to have sex with me. Get. On. The. Bed."

Merlin shook his head, making the grip in his hair tighen.

Forcefully, Merlin was pulled from the floor by his hair and shoved down on the bed.

The brunette was stunned for a moment, before he bolted up and jumped off the other edge of the bed. He turned to see Arthur begin to follow him.

"Goodbye, Arthur"

Arthur's eyes widened as Merlin quickly reached for the door handle and slammed his own bedroom door shut. He then grabbed his backpack from where it had fallen and ran for his life.


	10. Chapter 10

Arthur sighed, adjusting his suit when he stopped the car. He turned to Gwaine, who was wearing the same apparel. They both exchanged glances, then both sunk into the car seats, relaxing for the first time in hours.

The 24-year-old blond chuckled and pulled his tie loose. "God, I'm glad that's over."

A year and a half ago, Arthur had taken over his father as CEO of the Pendragon Insurance Company. He and Gwaine decided to arrange a meeting of both of their companies to begin working with each other. The weapons industry Gwaine ran was already beginning to flourish because of the join. Arthur was only too happy to help his friend's company out.

"Yeah…" Gwaine replied. "I fancy getting out of here for a while. Why not take a drive?"

Arthur smirked and turned to his friend, then silently undid his seatbelt and got out of the car. He wasn't surprised to see Gwaine grinned at him over the top of the car.

They swapped places, both putting the seatbelts back on, before Gwaine started up.

"Ready?"

Arthur laughed, "Ready." He agreed.

Gwaine immediately sped off. Having been CEO of a company for over four years, he still was the mischievous, excitable, slightly immature and happy-go-lucky person he had always been, and will always be.

Gwaine drove for about 45 minutes, to the edge of the city. During the drive, he and Arthur chatted about stuff, and Arthur ended up getting made to text Percival for Gwaine.

"How's it going between you and Perce, by the way"

Gwaine took one hand off the steering wheel to scratch his stubbly chin, the light flashing off the gold wedding ring on his finger. Arthur smiled, of course he did that on purpose.

"It's going amazing, actually. We finally have been able to find an adoption agency that let's gay couples adopt. We searched for ages. I mean, gay marriage was legalized years ago, you'd think the adoption fuckers would at least let gay married couples adopt but noooooo." Gwaine gripped the steering wheel harder, glaring ahead of him. He suddenly glanced over at Arthur and grinned happily, "But we've finally found one. I think it helped that we both have high paying jobs. We go and look at the kids on Thursday"

Arthur chuckled, "Well, a huge congratulations. I'll have to meet him or her right away, you know"

"Oh, I know!" Gwaine grinned, "We'd love a little girl. I mean, there are so many guys around. Not that I'm complaining, but it'll be nice to have a girl in the family…"

Arthur smiled at his friend and turned towards the road again.

They soon arrived at a small, sweet estate on the edge of the city. It was quite cute, and probably the only place you could pretend you were in a village for miles. Gwaine stopped the car on the pavement, grinning cheekily at Arthur.

The 24-year-old rolled his eyes and got out. "If I get clamped. I'm blaming you entirely."

Gwaine laughed, locking the car, "Alright, alright…"

They walked around the estate for a while, looking in the windows of shops, laughing at the side comments Gwaine kept muttering.

Eventually, they happened upon a small, cute café, which was open.

Gwaine looked up at the shop, then to Arthur, "Fancy a coffee? I'll pay. It's the least I can do for what you did for our companies today."

Arthur patted Gwaine on the back and nodded, "You don't have to pay me back, but a coffee would be nice. All I've had today is that disgusting office coffee." He wrinkled his nose as he lead the way into the shop.

Gwaine checked his phone as they walked through the tables towards the counter, where the attendant was busy in the back through the doorway to the kitchen.

"Hey," Gwaine said as they both looked up at the choice list, "How have you and Elena been doing?"

Arthur looked away from the drinks board to look down at his wallet in his hand. "Over. And with Rachel? Over again. I've not been in a proper relationship since…"

Gwaine sighed and nodded, "I know, mate. We all miss him."

"It's been three years, Gwaine" Arthur turned to his friend "I've looked for him everywhere. He left and left no clue to where he went. I've tried his parent's, he hasn't even been there…I really broke him, didn't I?"

Gwaine nodded, "Yeah." He guiltily agreed.

"I just wish I can find him again. I-…I miss him so much, Gwaine."

At that moment the waiter came out from the back. He wiped his hands on the apron on his slim waist and rolled up his sleeves without focusing on the two men in front of him.

"Afternoon Gentlemen, what can I get you?" He looked up, freezing.

Arthur was about to answer when Gwaine nudged and he looked up, finally looking at the waitor.

The blond gasped.

"Merlin?!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Merlin?!"

Merlin gaped at the two men in his café.

"A-Arthur?"

Merlin had changed a lot in the three years Arthur hadn't seen him. He hadn't grown, but had filled out a bit. His tight shirt showed off his slim arms, which were clearly very toned. His chest and waist were slightly bigger, also toned. Merlin's hair was longer, wavy and just brushing his shoulders. His cheekbones were even more defined than they were when he was a teenager, and his jaw had grown stronger, with a dark layer of stubble over the top.

"What are you doing here?" Merlin's voice, deeper than before, broke his thought pattern.

"I..we…" Arthur cleared his throat, "We took a drive to the outskirts of town."

Merlin narrowed his eyes, "You were trying to find me?"

Arthur shook his head, "No! We wanted to relax after a business meeting. We gave up looking for you age- I mean"

Merlin's eyes widened, giving the same puppy-eyed, innocent look like he did when he was 19, but now on the face of a gorgeous young man. "Oh…" He muttered, blushing faintly.

Gwaine moved forward, "Mate, he didn't mean it like that. God, get over here!" He leaned over and grabbed Merlin's shirt, pulling him sideways to the opening in the counter, then into a hug.

The rugged man pulled back after a moment and looked Merlin up and down, "Jesus, Mer, look at you! Fucking hell, you've changed."

Merlin blushed a bit more and chuckled, "Yeah. Kind of what you would expect after three years. How have you been, Gwaine?"

Gwaine snorted and pulled Merlin into another hug, "Jesus Christ, I've missed you so much. I've been fine. Although…"

He pulled back and punched Merlin on the shoulder. The brunette jumped and began rubbing the target of the punch. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"For not coming to my fucking wedding!"

Merlin's eyes widened, "You got married?"

Gwaine grinned, showing the young man his ring. "Me and Perce. Happily married two years."

"Wow, Gwaine, congratulations"

Gwaine flashed a grin again, then looked at Arthur, who was still staring at Merlin.

Merlin followed Gwaine's gaze and his smile faded. "Hey, Gwaine, I'll get you a coffee. Then I'd…I'd like to speak to Arthur."

Arthur's head snapped up at the mention of his name and he forced back a happy smile while Merlin expertly made Gwaine a coffee.

Gwaine reached into his pocket but Merlin waved it off and shoved the cup in his hands. The rugged man exchanged glances with Arthur, before moving to sit down in one of the booths.

"Do you want to talk outside?" Merlin asked quietly as he moved to stand by Arthur.

Arthur nodded and began to walk outside, Merlin following him.

Outside, Arthur stopped and turned around when they were a metre or so away from the café window, luckily there was no one else in the café apart from Gwaine, so Merlin didn't have anyone to serve.

Merlin walked up to Arthur, stopping a few paces away, scratching his arm.

There was about a minutes silence, before Arthur decided to finally talk.

"Hey…"

"Hey."

Arthur sighed, stepping forward, "Merlin, I am so sorry. I haven't drank an alcoholic drink since that night. I regret everything so much. I couldn't sleep for ages, I couldn't stop thinking of you. I stopped going to University, until Gwaine managed to get me to go again. I haven't had a stable relationship at all since you went…"

"I know"

"And when I did get with anyone, I couldn't stop thinking of you."

"I know.."

"And I've missed you so much, Merlin. I always think of you, and whether you have forgotten me by now, or still love me or.."

"I know…"

"O-Or whether you couldn't find a new life or a job and ended up homeless and I…wait…" Arthur stared at Merlin, "What do you mean, 'you know'?"

Merlin gave him a sad smile and stepped forward, "Gwaine texted my old phone a month ago, to see if I was still using that phone-"

"And you were?"

Merlin sighed and scratched his arm, "No, but I couldn't get rid of it either. It was my only connection to everyone back home. I used to read every single text you or anyone else sent, but they started stopping, and eventually I didn't get any anymore…"

Arthur felt very guilty. "Merlin.."

"He texted me a month ago telling me how you were. He told me you would look sad when you thought no one was looking. You wouldn't go to any parties anymore, and kept checking your phone even though all of the guys were with you."

Arthur gaped at Merlin, "I'm going to kill Gwaine, why didn't he tell me he talked to you?!"

"Because I told him not to."

"Why, Merlin?"

Merlin sighed, "Arthur, honestly, I don't know…You really hurt me. I drove here and made a new life. I didn't even go out in public for a month and a half. When my savings were beginning to run out, I managed to get a job here" He gestured towards the shop, "I…kind of like it here."

"But, what about your friends? Your parents? Everyone misses you, Merlin."

"Everyone has got on with their lives. They probably don't remember me."

"They do, Merlin! Especially…Especially me."

Merlin looked up at Arthur, smiling faintly.

"I've miss you too, Arthur…" He said quietly.

Arthur smiled, not being able to help it. "Will you come home now?"

Merlin's smiled faded, "I…I have a life here, Arthur."

"No, you don't, Merlin. You don't have friends, anyone who loves you. Please…come home."

"Where will I work? Where will I stay?"

"With me."

Merlin's eyes widened and he began to scratch his arm again, "I, erm…Arthur…"

Arthur suddenly remembering something, "Oh…Merlin…you can't forgive me for what I did to you, can you?"

Merlin was silent for a moment, before talking so quietly, Arthur almost missed it.

"I've already forgiven you…"


	12. Chapter 12

"I've already forgiven you…"

Arthur double glanced at Merlin, not believing he heard right, "W-What?"

Merlin looked up into Arthur's eyes, "I said you're already forgiven. I forgave you a long time ago."

"Bu-How? Why?"

Merlin smiled warmly, showing his answer, "I think you already know why, Arthur."

Arthur smiled back, stepping forward, "Then why didn't you come back?"

"Because I knew everything would be different."

"Yes, it would have. But not in a bad way."

Merlin frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I-I think the reason why I was so angry with you and…yeah, when I was drunk was because I was jealous. Jealous you no longer loved me, or so I thought."

"But…why would you be jealous?"

Arthur nervously scratched his neck, avoiding Merlin's gaze, "I think I've always known you loved me, and…and I liked it. I liked the way you used to stare at me in school, and collage. I liked the way you used to check me out whenever we were home, or sit slightly closer to me on the sofa. I liked how you got moody with me whenever I brought a girlfriend home…I guess, what I'm trying to say is…"

Merlin chuckled, "I love you too, Arthur"

Arthur looked up to see Merlin smiling. Hesitantly, he moved closer. When Merlin didn't move, he stepped forward again and wrapped his arms around his waist. Merlin stepped closer and wrapping his arms around Arthur's neck, burying his face into his neck.

After a moment, Arthur tightened his hold and pulled their bodies flush together, nuzzling Merlin's dark hair.

"Merlin, I've missed you so much. Please, come back with me…"

"I…I don't know…"

"At least let me buy you a coffee. We can sit and talk."

"Okay. I'd like that."

After Arthur and Merlin went back into the shop, Merlin went behind the counter to make two cups of coffee, making Arthur's exactly how he used to like it.

Arthur, meanwhile, went and sat down opposite Gwaine, who immediately leaned forward.

"Well? What did you guys say?"

"Well, we talked about how you talked with Merlin and didn't tell me"

Gwaine cringed, "Sorry, mate, he asked me not to and I didn't want to hurt him any more than he was."

Arthur nodded, smirking, "You took me here on purpose, didn't you." It wasn't a question, but Gwaine laughed and replied.

"Yeah. Mer told me where he was working and I found out where it was. I wanted you two to make up. You need him back in your life more than any of us."

Arthur smiled, "Thank you, Gwaine."

Gwaine nodded in reply as Merlin came back with, now, three cups of coffee, as he saw Gwaine's was empty. He pushed two to Arthur and Gwaine and sat down next to the blond, sipping his own.

As the rest of the day passed, Merlin, Arthur and Gwaine all caught up. Merlin found out about Arthur's job and the pairing of their two companies and congratulated them. He also took interest in Gwaine's wedding, hoping to talk to Percival some time.

All through the conversations, Arthur noticed how Merlin kept talking about home. Arthur told him about how he still had his double bed. And, with a blush, told Merlin he began using it when he moved out and into a proper house.

"It's huge!" Gwaine exclaimed, "Almost as big as mine! But Perce lives with me now, and Arthur's all alone"

Merlin smirked and glanced at Gwaine, getting at what he was trying to say. Arthur did too and looked at Merlin.

"Er, yeah. It's always been just me in that place. It's too big for my liking"

Merlin chuckled at the both of them, giving up in his pretence of not wanting to go back.

"Well, I suppose…I could."

Arthur gaped at Merlin, not believing he'd actually go along with it. "You're serious?!"

Merlin smiled over at Arthur, showing his answer.

"This means you'll come back with us?"

Merlin nodded, smiling. "I always wanted to. I just wanted to see how much you wanted me to."

Arthur grinned, along with Gwaine. "Oh my god, Merlin, thank you so much" Arthur exclaimed, pulling Merlin into a huge hug.

Merlin laughed and struggled, "Arth-can't…breathe..." He gasped and Arthur let him go, laughing.

"Come on, then. I can't wait to tell the others!"

Merlin chuckled and stood up, taking his apron off, "I'll just close up the shop and we can go and get my stuff from my apartment."

Arthur followed suit and stood up, catching Merlin's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Let's go"


	13. Chapter 13

Merlin led them back to his car, which was in near where Gwaine had parked Arthur's. He led the two back to his apartment, which wasn't that far away from the cafe.

"Here we are" Merlin announced when everyone was out of their cars. He looked up and down a tall block of flats, pointing to the one at the top.

Arthur and Gwaine both followed Merlin's finger and sighed, in sync looking at Merlin.

"What?" Merlin asked, confused.

"Your love of heights...it shows." Gwaine replied, making Merlin chuckle.

"Yeah...I couldn't say no to a perfect apartment like that, now could I?"

They all trooped inside, getting very frustrated when Merlin told him the lift didn't work, so ended up walking up 20 flights of stairs.

"No wonder you've gained some muscle, Merlin. When you've had to do this every day" Arthur said between heavy breaths.

Merlin laughed, not seeming to be out of breath yet, "It's good exercise. And, anyway, the lift has only been broken for a year or so..."

Finally, they reached Merlin's level, finding out it was entirely Merlin's.

"Just how big is your apartment?" Gwaine asked suspiciously, getting a nose-tapping as a reply.

Merlin dug his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door, swinging it open.

There was a beat of silence, before:

"...Holy fuck!"

"What the hell?!"

"I can definitely see why you didn't want to leave this place."

"Jesus, Merlin!"

Merlin stood back and watched his two friends run into his huge apartment, looking around.

"Now THIS is a bachelor pad!" Gwaine exclaimed, flopping onto one of the three plush sofas. Arthur stayed standing, looking around at the photos on the wall.

Merlin came and stood next to him, and laughed nervously when he saw what Arthur was looking at.

"Oh...I, um, printed them off of my Facebook, before I closed the account...I couldn't let any of you go."

Around the room, the walls were FULL of framed photographs. There must have been more than 30 on the wall. Each of them were of Merlin's old life. There was pictures of him and Lance standing on top of Ben Nevis (which is the highest mountain in he British Isles if you didn't know), Him and the 'knights' at various parties, clubs, and bars, but most of them were of Merlin and Arthur. There were ones where they were both pissed and holding a passed out Gwaine, grinning widely at the camera; ones where Arthur was failing at cooking and Merlin was helping, and others that were school photographs, taken at lunchtimes when the teacher wasn't looking.

Arthur felt a grin creep onto his face and he turned to Merlin, who was also smiling. Boldly, Arthur felt blindly for Merlin's hand and found it, gripping it firmly. Merlin gasped and glanced down, then curled his fingers around Arthur's. they stayed like that, smiling at each other and holding hands, before Gwaine found the big stereo system.

"WOAAHHHHH, WE'RE HALF WAY THERE, WOAH OH! LIVIN ON A PRAYER!"

Merlin jumped and ran over to Gwaine, who was playing air guitar and slammed his hand on the 'off' button. Gwaine turned to Merlin when the loud music had stopped and gave him a cheeky grin.

"Never knew you liked Bon Jovi, Gwaine" Merlin commented, nodded in approval.

"What DON'T I like about Bon Jovi, more like. I fucking love him!"

Merlin rolled his eyes and turned to the two men, "I don't actually have much stuff to pack, so, um...Gwaine, can you start in here" He pointed to the floor where they were tending in the living room, "And anything that looks personal, which isn't an ornament, can you start packing, please. The boxes are in the cupboard by the kitchen. Arthur, you can start with me in the bedroom." He said as he began walking towards his room.

After a moment, he stopped and turned to see both Arthur and Gwaine rolling in laughter. Soon enough, what he just said came back to him and he blushed beetroot red.

"NOT LIKE THAT!"

He stalked away, only making the others laugh harder.


	14. Chapter 14

Merlin was clearing out his wardrobe when he felt a pair of strong arms slip around his waist and a kiss placed on his neck. He smiled and rested his hands over the ones around him.

"Thank you, Merlin." Arthur whispered into Merlin's ear, tightening his hold on the young man.

Merlin's smile widened and he span in Arthur's arms, bringing his own up to wrap loosely around the blond's neck.

"It's fine, Arthur. I'm happy. And I'm glad you're happy too."

Arthur smiled and nodded, looking hesitant. Merlin laughed and slowly leaned in, pressing his lips softly against Arthur's.

Arthur flinched out of his thoughts and looked down at Merlin in surprise. Merlin gave him one of his carefree grins, shrugging as if to say 'what?'. Arthur shrugged back and leaned in again, and Merlin didn't disappoint. He met Arthur halfway, kissing him gently.

They stilled for a long moment, both simply enjoying the feel of each others lips on theirs, before a cough broke the silence.

They broke lips and turned towards the doorway, where Gwaine was leaning, eyebrow raised.

Merlin blushed and laughed nervously, dropping his arms from Arthur's neck, "heh...sorry, Gwaine"

Gwaine laughed, pushing himself upright by the shoulder he was leaning on, "Don't worry, mate, it's fine, I'm just glad you two are...getting along" he winked, "I suggest lube, much easier!" He said, making a quick exit when Arthur grabbed a shoe to throw at him.

In no time, everything was packed up and ready to go. They had managed to fit everything Merlin owned into five boxes, which included bedding and the huge tv.

Arthur and Gwaine refused to let Merlin carry two boxes, and ended up carrying two each, while Merlin had the job of carrying the lightest box and locking the apartment.

When everything was packed into the two cars -Arthur and Merlin in Merlin's car with Gwaine in the other-, Merlin phoned the cafe to tell him he quit his job, and his landlord to tell him he'd moved out at short notice. Both were understanding and the cafe even offered to give him a bonus when he came to collect his last paycheck.

"They've been good to me for the past 3 years..." Merlin commented as he hung up on his landlord. He looked almost sad to be leaving.

Arthur stepped forward, putting a hand on Merlin's shoulder, knowing what he was about to say was incredibly hard for him, "Yeah, they have...You don't have to leave if-"

"No, Arthur, I want to. This isn't my life! I've never truly been happy here...I want to come back with you...I want to go home."

Arthur couldn't hold back a grin as he pulled Merlin into a hug.

"Not meaning to break your bubble, lovebirds, but if we don't start off now, we won't be home by midnight." Gwaine said, making the other two pull away from each other, nodding.

Since Merlin didn't know the way back to Arthur's, Arthur offered to drive, and with a final goodbye to the cafe -and to pick up Merlin's last paycheck, which was far above what he'd actually earned- they set off.

It was already pretty dark when they set off, and they still had to drive for another hour or so. Gwaine kept in touch, texting or ringing about funny things or people he'd just seen on the pavement. Merlin smiled and hummed along with the radio, looking out of his window. Arthur couldn't help but glance over at the younger man every few seconds, thinking Merlin had no idea, how wrong he was.

"You know I /can/ see you in the reflection of the window. Subtlety isn't your strong suit is it?" Merlin chuckled, turning around to face Arthur.

Arthur immediately faced the front, his hands tightly on the wheel, making Merlin laugh harder, "I don't mind it. It's quite flattering...and slightly stalker-ish"

Arthur laughed, looking over at Merlin, "I've missed you so much, it just feels like a dream that you're actually going to be part of my life again"

Suddenly, without warning, Merlin pinched him on the arm. Hard.

"Ouch! What the fuck was that for?" Arthur complained, rubbing his arm.

Merlin gave him a cute smile, "To show you you're not dreaming."


	15. Chapter 15

By the time they got to Arthur's, Merlin was asleep in the passenger seat, curled up with Arthur's jacket over him for warmth.

Gwaine got out and walked around to Merlin's side with the intention of carrying him inside, before Arthur stopped him.

"I want to do it."

Gwaine laughed, putting his hands up in surrender and stepping back. He then got serious and looked at Arthur, "Be good to him, mate. He doesn't deserve any heartbreak"

Arthur sighed and looked down at Merlin, who was snoring softly. "I know. That's what I'm worried about. What if this brings back too many bad memories for him?"

"Hey, he came back! He loves you, Arthur, it's so fucking obvious. You'll work this out, even if it does bring back a few memories you'll work round it, okay?"

Gwaine smiled and patted Arthur on the shoulder, before going back to the other car to unload the boxes.

Arthur watched him go, before he turned to Merlin and bent down to gently pick him up. He was heavier than he was before, but then Arthur supposed it was because of the muscle he'd gained. Merlin shifted in Arthur's arms, curling into his shoulder, making the blond smile.

Slowly, as not to wake Merlin, he walked inside and up to his bedroom. He walked over to his bed and gently placed the sleeping man down, throwing the covers over him, but not before he took off his converses. Arthur thought of undressing Merlin to make him more comfortable, but decided against it. It was too soon. He'll let Merlin decide when he was ready to take their relationship to the next step.

Gwaine was waiting downstairs when Arthur walked into the living room.

"How is he, mate?"

"He's fine, I'm letting him sleep."

"So, are you going to, you know..."

Arthur frowned, "What?"

Gwaine shrugged, "Well, you /did/ put him in your bed...where are you going to sleep?"

Arthur chewed his lip. He hadn't thought of that.

Gwaine chuckled, folding his arms and waiting cheekily for Arthur to answer.

After a moment, Arthur replied, "...I'm going to wait until he wakes up to talk about it. I don't want him waking up uncomfortable with me asleep next to him."

Gwaine smirked, "Good answer. Right, I'm going to head off, Perce just texted me saying he wants me, so I mustn't disappoint." With a wink, Gwaine left.

Arthur chuckled, flopping down on one of the big sofas, turning on the big wall tv.

He was about ten minutes into How I Met Your Mother, and half way through a can of coke, when the bell rang.

Arthur frowned, pausing the tv and taking his can with him to the door. He opened it a moment later to find his sister, Morgana, standing there, obviously excited. "Merlin's here?!" She yelled, pushing her way past Arthur and into his house, looking around.

"...Please, Morgana, come in..." Arthur said sarcastically, turning around and shutting the door.

Morgana turned around, rounding on Arthur, "Is he here?! Is he really back?!"

Arthur let a happy smile grace his face, giving Morgana his answer. This seemed to calm Morgana down.

"...I've not seen that smile for the best part of three years, you know. So...He's really back."

"Yes, he's really back. And here to stay, hopefully."

"Where is he?"

Arthur blushed, "...Asleep...in my bed...ouch!" He rubbed his sore arm from where Morgana just punched him.

"He's in your /bed/?! Arthur, don't you think doing that stuff just as he came back will drive him away again?"

Arthur was confused for a moment, when he realised what his sister was saying, "No! We haven't! He just fell asleep in the car and I carried him upstairs."

Morgana sighed in relief, "Oh thank /god/."

The two siblings looked at each other for a moment, before bursting out with laughter.

It took about a minute for the two to calm down, wiping tears from their eyes, "Everything's perfect. Well, it's going to be. Merlin's back, you're happy...I'm so pleased for you, Arthur" Morgana told her brother, stepping forward to give him a hug.

"Morgana?" A deep voice, still laced with sleep, called out behind them and they both turned to see Merlin walking down the stairs.

Morgana gasped, looking Merlin up and down, "Holy mother of god, Merlin, look at you!" She rushed forward, almost making Merlin fall as she collided with him, hugging him tightly. Merlin laughed and hugged her back.

"It's...nice to see you...too, Morg...but I can't...breathe..." Merlin managed to get out, before he was released.

Morgana laughed, "Sorry, I don't know my own strength."

"Believe me, it runs in the family" Merlin commented, rubbing his rib and smiling at Arthur, who grinned back.

Morgana watched them and squealed, clapping excitedly, "Oh my god, Merlin, you've got so much to tell me, and I've got to fill you in on what's happened around here the past three years" She grabbed Merlin's arm and tugged him in the direction of the kitchen.

Merlin looked over his shoulder at Arthur, whispering 'help me!', making Arthur chuckle.


	16. Chapter 16

Merlin and Morgana talked well into the night, chatting about what Merlin had done in the past three years and Morgana showing Merlin her wedding photos.

"I've missed two weddings of my best friends! I feel so bad."

Morgana chuckled, "it wasn't your fault. But Leon and I still set out a seat for you, just in case."

"I'm so sorry, Morg. I hope you and Leon had a good day, though"

"It was brilliant. The happiest day of my life"

Merlin grinned, "I'm sure it was..."

About five minutes past two in the morning, there was another knock on the door. Arthur, who had settled down to watch tv and left Morgana and Merlin to chat, answered it to find...everyone; Gwaine, Percival, Leon, Lancelot, Gwen, Elyon and, most importantly, Uther and Merlin's parents.

Arthur invited them all in, slapping Gwaine for telling them all so soon.

While the 'knights' and Gwen practically ran into the kitchen to find Merlin, Uther, Balinor and Hunith stayed behind.

Hunith immediately rushed forward and gave Arthur a hug, "Thank you for finding my son" she whispered tearily in his ear, before pulling him back to give him a kiss on his cheek.

"It's okay. I am truly sorry for what happene-"

"Don't be, son. I think, after three years, everyone's forgiven you."

Arthur smiled, "Even Merlin"

Hunith squealed and ran into the kitchen, "Where's my boy?!"

Arthur smiled and turned back to Uther and Balinor, who were firm friends for many years, and used to work together at Uther's company until they both took an early retirement.

"Well done, son" Uther said, patting Arthur in the arm, nodding in approval.

"Thanks, father."

"Don't you make him run away again, are we clear? And, while I fully accept your relationship, I expect grandchildren"

Arthur was stunned, "Are you...you're serious? You don't mind me loving Merlin?"

Uther smiled and shook his head, "It's not been a secret that you have loved him for ages, Arthur. I accepted it a long time ago."

Arthur couldn't believe it, he stepped forward and engulfed his father in a hug. Uther, not used to this, cleared his throat and awkwardly patted his son on the back, "You're welcome, son. Now, I must go and welcome my future son-in-law home"

Arthur pulled away and blushed, watching Uther walk away, leaving him alone with Balinor.

They were both silent for a moment, before Balinor cleared his throat and stepped forward, "Thank you, Arthur. Thank you for bringing my boy home."

Arthur nodded, "It's okay, Balinor. He wanted to return anyway, he just needed the right push to come home."

Balinor smiled and put both hands on Arthur's shoulders, "Please take care of him, son. I want you both to be happy."

Arthur felt his heart warm as he smiled and nodded, "Believe me, I won't let him go. I've learnt from my horrible mistakes and realised I need Merlin in my life, and he needs me in his. I will take care of him till the day he dies, Balinor."

Balinor smiled and nodded, "Call me dad." He said, before walking into the kitchen.

Arthur felt a grin grow on his face as he followed him, "Dad..." He muttered to himself.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Morgana was just talking about her honeymoon, when the kitchen door opened.

Merlin looked around to find all of his old friends gaping at him. He blushed and stood up, "Um...hi, guys"

He was suddenly trampled with hugs. Everyone was on him, hugging him, trying to talk to him, crying on his shoulder(mostly Gwen). Merlin laughed and tried to hug all of them back.

"Hey...HEY!"

Everyone stopped to look at Morgana, who was the one who shouted.

She pushed everyone out of the way to get to Merlin, "One at a time, guys, I know we're all really happy Merlin's back, but we don't want to push him into leaving again!"

Merlin laughed, "Very funny, /Morgan/."

Morgana slapped him, "Don't call me that." Smiling as everyone laughed.

After a couple of minutes, everyone calmed down and went to raid Arthur's kitchen. Merlin tried to catch up with all of them individually, and was currently talking to Gwen -who was still crying and needed a good few hugs- before the kitchen door slammed open and a very teary Hunith ran in.

"Mum?" Merlin called, walking over to her, immediately getting pulled into a crushing hug.

"Oh my baby boy!" Hunith sobbed into his shoulder. Merlin shook his head, smiling as he hugged her back.

"Hey, mum"

"Where have you been?! Oh, Merlin I've been so worried!" Hunith pulled back, his hands on her sons shoulders as she properly looked at him, making her cry even more, "Sweety, look at you! You've grown up so much! And look at those muscles!" She pulled up Merlin's shirt to see the strong, yet slim set of muscles on Merlin's stomach. Merlin laughed and tried to pull his top down without much success. A wolf whistle sounded from somewhere in the kitchen and Merlin sent a glare Gwaine's way, who shook his head 'innocently'.

Hunith smiled and hugged Merlin again, "I've missed you so much! I can't wait for you to come home!"

Merlin bit his lip, "I, well, I'm not going to live at yours, mother..."

Hunith frowned, "But you have no where else to live. The flat you lived in was sold years ago"

Merlin nodded, "Yes, but...I'm going to be staying here, with Arthur." He muttered, expecting Hunith to complain, but when he looked back at his mother, she was smiling.

"Correct answer."

Merlin gaped at her, "What?! That was a test?!"

Hunith laughed, "Oh, sweetheart, of course it was!"

Behind Hunith, the kitchen door opened once more to reveal Uther, who looked around at everyone helping themselves to Arthur's alcohol, then Merlin.

Merlin walked towards him, "Hey, Uther..." He greeted, holding out his hand.

Uther looked down at it and took it, pulling Merlin into a hug. "I'm glad you're back. Arthur wasn't happy and I'm sure you weren't either." Merlin shook his head, smiling. Uther cleared his throat and nodded, "Be good to him, the same as he'd better be good to you, too. Or you'll /both/ have to face my wrath"

Merlin laughed, "Don't worry, I'll look after him."

Uther smiled, "And, Like I've said to Arthur, I expect grandchildren, son"


	17. Chapter 17

Everyone ended up going home at sunrise, thankful it was now a Saturday so they had a chance to actually sleep.

Arthur stationed himself at the door, saying goodbye to everyone. Gwen started to tear up again, being led out of the door by Lancelot's caring arm around her waist. Hunith was almost asleep on her feet, but still managed to strangle Merlin into a hug and make him promise to visit them on Sunday. Merlin, of course, agreed and even invited his parents and Uther to get lunch the next weekend.

When everyone had, finally, left, Arthur slowly closed the door and sighed. Merlin smiled and walked towards him, hands in his pockets.

"I'm not tired." He said, stopping in front of the blond.

Arthur smiled, "Me neither"

Merlin nodded and checked his watch, "Well, it /is/ 7:50. Do you, you know, want to go get some coffee and an early breakfast?"

Arthur's heart swelled, "I'd love to"

"Seeing as I highly doubt your cooking skills have improved"

"Hey!...yeah, you're right."

Merlin chuckled, "My phone and wallet are in the car"

Arthur nodded and went to get his own wallet, then returned to Merlin who was waiting by the door.

"Ready to go?"

Merlin nodded, "One more thing..."

Arthur frowned while Merlin smiled and reached for the blond's hand. Arthur grinned and gladly took it, before walking out of the door and locking it behind them both.

"No. No! That was /you/!"

"Oh no. The burn on our old flat ceiling was /totally/ you. You, somehow, set fire to the fucking pancakes! I had to chuck them out of the window!"

Arthur laughed, sipping his coffee, "I distinctly remember you being very, /very/ high and trying to juggle flaming donuts!"

Merlin pretended to be offended, then laughed, "Oh yeah...I remember that now. That did /not/ go the way I wanted"

"You can't even juggle sober!"

Merlin slapped Arthur on the arm, "Well high-me didn't know that!"

This conversation went on for another five minutes, and Arthur loved it. They were talking so naturally, laughing and joking. God, he loved Merlin's laugh. They were acting like a proper couple, and a Arthur couldn't believe his luck. Merlin had genuinely forgiven him.

About two minutes later, their food arrived, and Merlin hungrily dug in. Arthur laughed.

"When did you last eat?"

Merlin's shrugged, still concentrating on shoving food into his mouth, "About two days ago" he said through a full mouth of egg and quorn sausage. "Just after the gym"

"So you were working out. I guess that explains the muscles you've miraculously gotten. I remember you couldn't gain a single pound of weight, you were so skinny!"

Merlin pointed his fork at Arthur, chewing for a moment before swallowing, "I was 19. And lanky. /Not/ my fault." He said, before returning to his food.

Arthur chuckled, "Seriously, you were so light to pick up! I mean, it was so easy for me to throw you on the..." He trailed off. Oh fuck.

Merlin stopped chewing and looked up at Arthur, who was glaring down at his own plate, looking suddenly depressed. He swallowed and reached across the table, placing his hand ontop of Arthur's.

"Listen, you clotpole, stop feeling sorry for yourself. What's done is done. It's in the past, and I've gotten over it, so you should be able to too. I don't blame you, Arthur, I've forgiven you. An you've changed, I can see. I mean, you're still a cabbage-head but I know you'll never do anything like that again."

Arthur looked up to see Merlin giving him a soft smile, rubbing his thumb gently on Arthur's hand. "But what if I do? I'm so scared of hurting you again and then losing you forever."

Merlin shook his head, "I'll never let that happen"

"How?"

Merlin smiled again, "Because I'll never leave you again, Arthur. It nearly killed me the last time I did and it took a toll on you too. I wot be able to do anything like that to either of us. But you do have to promise me something."

"Anything" Arthur said quickly.

Merlin smirked and pulled his hand away, "Eat your fucking breakfast. It's going to get cold"


	18. Chapter 18

Arthur and Merlin were sitting on the balcony of the cafe they were in, enjoying seeing the town begin to wake up, with people going off to work.

Arthur was having fun just watching the people down below, when he heard a click of a zippo beside him and looked over to find Merlin lighting a cigarette.

"Merlin!"

Merlin jumped, almost making the lot cigarette fall onto his lap, "What?!" He said defensively, the fag still between his lips as he took a long drag.

"Smoking? Seriously?"

Merlin stuck his tongue out, flicking ash into the air, then taking another drag. "I like it, okay?"

"But you're so innocent! You're a vegetarian, and..."

Merlin raised an eyebrow, "I smoke and drink and get stoned. Yeah, totally, /so/ innocent"

Arthur laughed, not believing that Merlin had actually grown up that much.

Merlin took another drag and offered it to Arthur, "Want a toke?"

Arthur gasped, then was silent for a moment, "Give it here" he said finally, making Merlin laugh and hand over the cigarette.

Arthur took a drag, sighing as he slowly breathed out smoke. After a moment of complete silence, he looked over at Merlin.

Merlin was staring at the blond, slack jawed and wide eyes, his pupils blown wide. Arthur frowned, "What?!"

"You're so hot right now..."

"So...you find me smoking attractive?

Merlin shook himself and blushed, "No..."

Arthur laughed and took another drag, blowing it in Merlin's direction. Merlin made a tiny whining noise and flushed bright red, "Stop that!"

Arthur laughed, "No!" Taking another drag.

Merlin held out his hand, "Give me my cigarette back"

Arthur smirked and shook his head, tilting his head back and blowing smoke into the air, Merlin groaned, trying to cover it up with a sip of coffee.

Arthur looked at the cigarette inbetween his fingers, "Oh god, I've forgotten how good this is"

Merlin smiled, lighting a new cigarette for himself, letting Arthur finish the old one.

About a packet of cigarette's later, Arthur and Merlin decided it was time to go home...right after they stopped off at a gas station for a pack of Royals.

They finally got back to Arthur's house at about 10:30 am, and Merlin was basically asleep on his feet, despite having three cups of coffee. Arthur unlocked the door and opened it with one hand, the other hand holding Merlin up as he leaned against the blond's shoulder, yawning.

Arthur smiled down at him once they were inside, "Come on, let's go to bed"

Merlin nodded, "Okay"

Arthur managed to get Merlin upstairs without him collapsing and stopped in front of his own bedroom door.

"What's the matter?" Merlin asked sleepily.

"I...um...I'm not sure if you feel okay with sleeping in my bed"

"Arthur, if I wasn't okay with it I would have said something when I woke up earlier"

Arthur smiled and opened his door, leading them both into his room. Merlin let go of Arthur and flopped onto the bed. Arthur laughed and kicked off his shoes and flopped down on the other side of the bed.

"Hey, Merl-"

/Snore/

Arthur looked over to see Merlin fast asleep where he had landed. He smiled, leaning over to kiss the brunette on the forehead.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you. I'm so happy you're here"

Merlin, even in a state of unconsciousness, smiled, "Love...you...too"


	19. Chapter 19

Arthur and Merlin woke up in each other's arms. Merlin yawned and looked up at Arthur, smiling.

"Morning"

"Morning"

Click. "MORNING!"

Arthur and Merlin shot upright, wide eyed as Gwaine grinned, snapping another picture of the two.

"Aw! You guys are so damn cute!"

"GWAINE! What the fuck are you doing here?" Arthur shouted, throwing a pillow at their eccentric friend, who dodged and snapped another photo, smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, nothing. Just catching the first time you guys wake up in each other's arms. So romantic!"

"Well it would have been if you hadn't ruined the moment!"

Merlin, meanwhile, was silently laughing at the two. Arthur looked over at him.

"Why aren't you annoyed about this?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm annoyed, but I have the perfect revenge."

He reached for his phone and scrolled through his videos for a moment before clicking one, holding it up for the other two to see. There Gwaine was, about four years ago at New Years Eve, singing a /very/ drunken version of Old Lang Sine with a turkey hat on. Gwaine instantly paled.

"How did you get that?"

Merlin laughed, "Copied it off my old phone. I've been waiting to take revenge and this is the perfect moment. I wonder what his firm will think if this /accidentally/ got emailed to them?"

"You wouldn't"

"I would. You just ruined an almost perfect moment which could have resulted in our first sex!"

Arthur smirked, "/Yeah/...Wait...really?"

Merlin nodded, "I've waited three years for you, Arthur, you seriously think I was going to withhold sex any longer than I needed to?"

Arthur, now furious, turned to Gwaine. In an instant, the blond was out of bed and chasing after their giggling friend.

Merlin, smiling, followed them, but not before he grabbed one of Arthur's hoodies to keep him warm.

Merlin found Arthur and Gwaine in a wrestling match in the living room, rolling about on the floor as Arthur tried to grab Gwaine's camera.

"Be careful, dude, this is new!"

"I dont give a fuck! Delete those pictures"

"But you look so cute! The guys on Facebook would love it! Picture it: 'The first time I cockblocked the happy couple'"

"I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Merlin laughed and secretly snapped a picture of the two, before going into the kitchen to make breakfast. And after a quick look at his watch, he decided to skip breakfast(as it was about 4 in the afternoon) and make dinner...containing bacon and eggs.

About half an hour later, two very ruffled and still angry men walked ini the kitchen. Merlin, who was watching the news and sipping a coffee, grinned at them.

"Have fun, boys?"

Arthur laughed sarcastically at Merlin and then saw his empty plate. "Hey...you didn't make any food for me?"

"Or me?"

"Gwaine, fuck off"

Gwaine smirked, "No. I like ruining your romantic moments."

Merlin laughed, "In the oven."

Both men looked at each other and, still in their brotherly fighting mood, raced for the oven, fighting all the way there.

It took a full plate of eggs and bacon, two cups of coffee, and Merlin threatening to send the video to his coworkers to get Gwaine out of the house. By that time it was about half past 5.

Merlin walked into the living room, still wearing Arthur's hoodie, to fid the blond watching How I Met Your Mother on the sofa. He pauses the show when Merlin entered and smiled, opening his arms.

"You know, you look mighty attractive wearing my clothes"

"Ooh" Merlin smiled and sat on Arthur's knee, being closed in by two strong arms around his waist. "Do I now?"

"Mm, yes. You would look even sexier wearing my underwear"

"Who says I'm not?"

Merlin burst out laughing at the look on Arthur's face, "I'm kidding! Please don't jump me, I think my ribs are still bruised from yesterday."

Arthur chuckled and pulled Merlin down for a kiss, then frowned, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me another one if you like"

"Merlin be serious"

"Sorry, you were saying?"

Arthur sighed and looked to the side. "Can we talk about our past at all? Because I think it'll kill me if we can't, because-"

Arthur was stopped by Merlin's lips on his. "Of course we can talk about the past. But right now I want to sit down with my boyfriend and see if Robin and Barney get married, okay?"

Merlin smiled, which faded quickly at the confused look on the blond's face, "What?"

"I'm...your boyfriend?"

"Well...yeah...that is, if you want to be?"

Arthur smiled, "Oh my god, Merlin, of course I want to be! I just didn't want to say it because I was scared you'd think we were moving too fast"

Merlin raised an eyebrow, "Arthur. It took three years of secrecy, one drunken night of truth and another three years of not seeing each other for us to get together, how much slower do you want to take this?"

Arthur nodded and smiled, "You're right. Now come on, you just gave me a MASSIVE spoiler to How I Met Your Mother. I want to catch up" he said, pressing play on the remote as Merlin got comfy on his lap.

"So, do Robin and Barney really get married?"

"I thought you didn't want any spoilers..."


	20. Chapter 20

Merlin and Arthur eventually fell asleep on the sofa in each other's arms.

They slept all the way through the night, and only woke up when a loud commercial came on in the morning. Merlin jerked awake and sat upright, only to fall off Arthur's knee and onto the floor. Arthur awoke when a weight suddenly lifted from his knees and looked down to see a very confused Merlin lying in front of him.

"Um, what just happened?"

Arthur yawned and chuckled, before lending Merlin a hand to help him up.

"You were probably just being a typical Merlin. Flailing around"

"Very funny. That really hurt" Merlin said, rubbing his arse and standing up, stretching, the hoodie he was wearing lifted up and revealed his toned stomach. Arthur watched Merlin, his mouth open as he stared. It wasn't until Merlin shouted his name did Arthur snap out of his trance.

"Huh?"

Merlin chuckled and folded his arms, "You were staring at me. I think I saw a bit of drool there"

Without thinking, Arthur wiped his mouth, then looked at Merlin sarcastically. "Idiot"

"Clotpole"

"That's not a proper word."

"Yes it is."

"Okay then, describe 'clotpole'"

"In two words?"

"Yeah."

"Urm...Arthur Pendragon"

Arthur laughed and stood up, circling Merlin with his arms.

"Hey, Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

Merlin blushed and smiled shyly, "Nothing, don't worry"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "What...?"

Merlin's shy smile turned into a cheeky one. "Catch me" He said and broke into a sprint, running for the stairs.

"Oh no you don't!" Arthur laughed and chased after him, noticing Merlin was going in the direction of his bedroom.

When Arthur finally got to his room, Merlin was no where to be seen. He walked slowly through the open doorway, looking around him suspiciously. He was about a metre through the door before he heard a scream behind him and turned, only to have a full face of Merlin, who had jumped on him and began wrestling. They both struggled and messed around before Arthur lost balance and fell backwards onto the bed, Merlin ontop of him.

"Oof"

Merlin looked up, confused. "How did we get to the bed...?"

Arthur smiled up at Merlin, running a hand through his hair, "Does it matter?"

Merlin chuckled and shook his head, "I suppose not...Hey...you know, I'm not exactly tired..."

Arthur smirked, "I like where this is going, Mer"

"Mm, yeah..." Merlin hummed, leaning down to slowly kiss the blond.

Arthur eagerly kissed back, wrapping his arms around Merlin's waist, pulling him closer.

Merlin hummed quietly, opening his mouth slightly as invitation. Arthur immediately thrust his tongue into his lovers mouth, moaning as he was finally able to taste Merlin properly.

After a long moment they broke apart, Arthur gently pulled Merlin's head down so their foreheads were touching.

"I love you, Merlin"

Merlin smiled knowingly, making Arthur frown.

"What?"

"That's the first time you have told me you love me...well, sober"

"Really?" Arthur felt a smile creep onto his face.

"Really" Merlin returned the smile, pecking Arthur quickly on the lips before, with strength Arthur didn't know Merlin possessed, flipped them over so Arthur was on top.

"You know, Merlin..."

Merlin pressed a finger to Arthur's mouth.

"Ah ah ah. Less talking, more fucking"

Arthur's eyes widened, surprised Merlin would use such dirty language. Nevertheless, he didn't comment and leaned down, replacing Merlin's finger with his lips.

Without breaking the kiss, Merlin ran his hands down Arthur's shirt, quickly unbuttoning it with speed which surprised the blond.

Merlin smirked into the kiss as he pushed Arthur's shirt off his shoulders, then broke the connection between their lips to look at the other's muscles.

"Mmm." Merlin hummed, running his hands up Arthur's chest.

Arthur laughed, "Like what you see?"

"Definitely..." Merlin said without looking away from the muscles.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "You don't like me just for my body, do you?"

This time Merlin laughed and looked up at Arthur's face, "Yes. I have stayed in love with your body for more than five years, Arthur" He said sarcastically.

Arthur smiled and shook his head, moving his head downwards. Instead of capturing Merlin's lips, he lowered his head further to the brunette's neck, kissing and sucking a mark into it.

And that is how Arthur found out how to make Merlin become putty in his hands. The smaller man practically melted into the bed in a mess of moans and pants, clinging onto Arthur's shoulders like he was Kate Winslet on a piece of driftwood.

Arthur drew away after a moment to appreciate his handiwork. On the side of Merlin's neck was a large, purple lovebite, too large to simply cover up with his collar. Merlin stopped moaning and looked up at Arthur with an annoyed expression.

"I have to go and see my parents soon, you idiot! How am I going to hide that?!"

"I don't want you to hide it."

"Why not?"

"If you don't hide it, everyone will know you belong to me"

Merlin couldn't argue with that, in fact, he found it rather hot that Arthur was so possessive. He smiled and leaned up, giving Arthur a quick kiss before trailing his hand down the blond's chest and squeezed his crotch.

Arthur pulled away from the kiss, moaning loudly as he felt his length start to harden. He growled inwardly. Two can play at that game, he thought, and suddenly grabbed Merlin's crotch, finding him half hard already.

Merlin groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he panted, "We…have too many clothes on"

Arthur immediately set to work ridding them both of their clothes and, finally, after a minute or so, they were both completely naked in front of each other.

Arthur was still on top of Merlin, admiring the view of his lover's slim, yet muscular body. Merlin was Arthur's description of perfect. He had definitely filled out over the three years they had apart and it looked amazing. And his cock…Oh god, Arthur thought Merlin was big but he must have gotten bigger. It was still smaller than Arthur's, but still a very impressive size. Arthur smiled at the thought of that someday being inside him, but that day would have to wait as he wanted Merlin's arse first. He lowered his head, giving Merlin's nipple a flick with his tongue.

He heard Merlin moan quietly above him and smiled. Taking Merlin's nipple fully into his mouth, he began to suck, his tongue flicking against it at the same time.

"Ngh! Art-thurrr" Merlin groaned, his head falling back onto the pillow. Arthur hummed gently, releasing Merlin's nipple to trail his tongue down Merlin's body, over his toned stomach to his cock.

Merlin gasped and lifted his head once he realized what Arthur was going to do. "A-Arthur?"

Arthur glanced up at his lover with a warm smile, "You okay, handsome?"

Merlin licked his lips, "Yeah…so good."

"Good. It's about to get even better" Arthur said and engulfed Merlin's length with his mouth.

Merlin cried out, clutching the bed sheets with clenched fists as his cock was encased with a wet warmth. He vaguely wandered how Arthur had learnt to give blowjobs but when Arthur started to bob his head up and down every civilised thought went out the window.

Arthur began to bob his head faster, stopping every now and then to tongue the sensitive head. All the while Merlin had melted into the covers, feeling like jelly but in a state of euphoria.

"A-Arthurr…Can't…Hold on…Much longer…" He managed to say between pants and moans.

Arthur, hearing and feeling that Merlin was very close to coming, leaned up, taking his mouth off of Merlin's length with a luid 'pop' which only made Merlin blush more.

The blond smiled at the mess he had managed to make Merlin and crawled back up the bed, kissing his lover. Merlin instantly turned away from the kiss, scrunching up his nose.

"What?"

"You just sucked my dick. I'm not kissing you"

Arthur smirked, giving him a kiss on the cheek before reaching over to his bed-side table, taking out the cherry-flavoured lube.

Merlin eyed it carefully, beginning to get nervous about what was going to happen.

Arthur squirted some onto his forefinger and pressed it to Merlin's lips, "Fancy a taste?"

The brunette took Arthur's finger into his mouth and sucked the lube off, tasting the cherry and deciding it wasn't actually that bad.

"Nice, huh?"

Merlin licked his lips, nodding, "Yep" His smile immediately dropped as he felt Arthur's lubed finger slowly stretch his hole. He realized Arthur had distracted him, making him relax to make it hurt less. Merlin forced himself to stay calm and squeezed his eyes closed as the finger pressed deeper into him. It burned terribly.

Arthur bit his lip, watching his lover in pain and began to curl his finger inside of him, trying to find that spot…

"Oh god, Arthur, there!"

Found it! Arthur smirked as Merlin arched off the bed, gasping loudly. He pressed against Merlin's spot a few more times to make Merlin completely relax before adding a second finger. This time Merlin tensed up but not as much as before.

Within a few moments, Arthur was able to easily move his fingers back and forth inside Merlin, pressing on the sensitive bundle of nerves a few times.

"Ready for a third?" Arthur whispered.

Merlin, who had had no idea this would feel so fucking heavenly, looked up at Arthur and nodded, relaxing himself as much as he could.

Arthur easily slipped a third finger into Merlin and moved it only a few times before taking all three out. Merlin whined as the fingers left his body, but his whine turned into a cry as something even bigger began to replace them.

Merlin reached up, clinging onto Arthur as the blond slowly entered him. Soon, Arthur was able to slip his whole length inside, making both men groan.

After that, Arthur stayed still, not wanting to hurt Merlin any more than necessary, but it was only a few moments before Merlin nodded his consent to Arthur to start moving.

Cautiously, Arthur began to slowly thrust into Merlin, moaning quietly at how tight he was around his cock.

Merlin bit his lip, trying not to moan too much. Arthur was big enough to be able to hit his prostate every time he thrust into him.

"Don't" Arthur panted, beginning to pick up the pace of his thrusts, "I want to hear you moan"

Merlin did as he was told and stopped biting his lip, beginning to moan louder and louder, thankful they were the only two in the house.

Soon, Arthur was pistoning in and out of Merlin, who had to hold onto the bars on the headboard to stop himself from head-butting it. The room was full of loud moans and pants of 'Arthur' or 'Merlin!'. When Arthur felt himself getting close, he reached down and wrapped his hand around Merlin's length, beginning to jack him off the same time as his thrusts. Merlin began to tense up, feeling the tightness in his stomach that was sure to push him over the edge.

"Arthur, I'm about to..!"

"Me too, Merlin"

"Oh god, I love you so much"

This pushed Arthur over the edge. He came, hard, inside the brunette. The feeling of Arthur coming inside of him pushed Merlin over the edge, too. He came with a cry of Arthur's name, his seed hitting his stomach and chest.

When Arthur came down from his high, he collapsed on top of Merlin, panting. Merlin wound his arms around the blond and smiled sleepily.

"That…was amazing"

Arthur smiled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, because be prepared for it to happen a lot more. Once I've had you, I'm never going to let you go…"


	21. Chapter 21

"Arthur, where are w-"

"Shut up, Merlin, just trust me, okay?"

"I don't trust you."

"Really. You don't trust your own husband?"

"Nope. Never have, never will"

Arthur rolled his eyes, keeping his hands on his husband's shoulders, guiding him as his eyes were blindfolded with one of his bright blue neckscarfs.

Merlin, waking up late, was blindfolded from the moment he woke up that day, having absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Arthur, I'm serious, what's going on?"

"I thought you liked surprises?"

"Urgh. Clotpole."

"Dollophead"

"I've told you a thousand times. That's my word"

"Not anymore"

Merlin shook his head, smiling. As he walked forward, he heard a door opening and then shutting behind him. Suddenly his blindfold was ripped off and everyone he knew and loved popped up from various places around the room.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Merlin froze in surprise. It was his birthday? Smiling, Arthur walked up to him.

"I knew you'd forget about your birthday."

"Arthur...I...Wow..."

Ygraine chuckled, walking up for a hug, "Speechless, I knew that'll be your reaction. Balinor owes me a tenner"

"You seriously bet on Merlin's reaction?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course. Uther wanted to join in the bet but I knew, somehow, he'll cheat."

"Speaking of Uther.." Merlin said, looking around the room filled with everyone he loved, "Where is he?"

Ygraine chuckled, "In the kitchen with Freya"

Merlin nodded in thanks and, with a kiss from Arthur -earning many cheers and wolf whistles, mostly from Gwaine- he walked into the kitchen, his husband following.

There, pacing around the counters, was Uther, coeing softly over a bundle of blankets which covered a beautiful, brunette baby girl with bright blue eyes.

Uther didn't notice anyone was in the room, before Arthur couldn't hold his laughter anymore. Uther jumped, turning towards the doorway.

"Now there's something I thought I'll never see: Uther Pendragon. /Cooing/."

"Excuse me. Young man!...I wasn't cooing!"

Merlin laughed, "How's my baby girl?" He asked, walking forward, looking over Uther's shoulder to stroke his daughter's cheek.

"She's fine. Now get back to your party. Leave her with her grandfather"

Merlin smirked and patted Uther's arm, before taking Arthur's hand and leading him out to the party room.

The party went on well into the night. Molly and Leyla, Gwaine and Percival's twin daughters spent most of the time playing with Luke, Gwen and Lance's son, while the adults partied like when they were teenagers. By the end of the night, Gwaine managed to find the music source and put on some soppy slow music to 'get everyone in the mood'.

Arthur pulled Merlin into the middle of the room, beginning to sway them both slowly.

"Thank you for this, Arthur. I mean it."

"You deserve it, sweetheart. Being a head doctor is so stressful for you, I decided you needed a break."

"Thank you...by the way, where are we? I don't recognise the place."

Arthur grinned, taking his husband's hand and pulling him up the grand staircase, towards a large bedroom. Merlin still had no clue to where he was, as every window he passed had curtains drawn.

They got to a huge, fancy bedroom with double doors, presumably leading to a balcony. Arthur stopped just short of the curtained doors and turned around.

"Close your eyes."

"What? Oh come on, Arthur!"

"Trust me, okay? It'll be worth it...you know I told you to take those sleeping pills last night?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I doubled the dose."

"You /what/?!"

"You slept for 15 hours"

"Arthur!"

The blond grinned, suddenly pulling back the curtains to the balcony. Merlin gasped.

Right infront of him, lit up in all it's glory, was the Eiffel Tower.

"We're...We're in /Paris/?!" Merlin's jaw dropped.

Arthur opened the double doors and led a still gaping Merlin out onto the balcony.

"Yep. You always wanted to go here"

"Wow...Arthur..."

"You've thanked me enough, Merlin. I think I should be thanking you. If someone told me when I was 21 that, in five years, I'd be married to the love of my life with a gorgeous baby daughter. I would have told them they're crazy...but it's true. Thank you for making my life worth living, Merlin"

Merlin turned to his husband, tears of happiness in the corners of his eyes. He grabbed both of Arthur's hands and kissed him tenderly.

"I should be saying that to you. I love you, Arthur"

"I love you too, Merlin"

Arthur smiled, kissing Merlin passionately again.

CLICK.

"Oh! That's going to be a /brilliant/ shot!"

"GWAINE!"

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this work over 2 years ago, so please be nice. I have decided to upload all of my old fanfictions to here from fanfiction.net. Hope you like it!  
> -Just a quick update: I've been getting a lot of comments recently concerning the content in some of the chapters, and that I should tag them in case of triggering. I just want to point out that I wrote this when I was like 16 and originally published it on Fanfiction. Back then, the demand for vigorous tagging in case someone is triggered hardly existed and I didn't think anything of it. So, that was a mistake on my part when I published it on here. I've now rectified it and apologise if anyone was triggered by the content of this story, that was not my intention.


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